Kite4Life: help cancer patients experience the joy of kiting

Living approximately 14.000 km apart for the last 10 years means my niece Carmen and I haven't had enough time to chat and make memories so we are very excited to have the opportunity to walk the biggest walking event in the world: De Nijmeegse 4 daagse. It will give us plenty of time to chat as we are taking on this challenge to walk 40

km a day for 4 days in a row! We do have a few things in common which makes us a great team to take up this challenging walk! We are both active, love the outdoors and have a passion for performing in sport! Carmen loves modern dancing and sprint swimming and I have a great passion for kitesurfing. To give this challenging walk an even better purpose we have decided to raise funds for the Kite4Life foundation! This charity gives people who have to deal with the challenge of cancer in their daily life the opportunity to experience the joy of learning a new sport! Kitesurfing! Check out the youtube video below and translation to have an understanding what Kite4Life is all about. I am

very excited to raise funds for Kite4Life as I know from my own experience how enjoyable the kitesurf journey is and what joy it can bring in your everyday life. Having the opportunity to take

your mind of your fight against cancer and focus on learning a new sport is something I would wish everyone to be able to experience. Of course this comes with costs and that’s where Kite4Life jumps in! They provide a lesson package of 3x3 hrs for (ex) patients and a loved one. How fantastic is that! Price tag for this is €350.- so my aim of the game is to walk for a lesson pack a day! Let’s go!

Kite4Life Foundation

Translation video

(Baris - Founder of the foundation - cancer survivor)

Today we are at the water sports club in Zandvoort to kick of the our new foundation that focusses on bringing back feelings of hope, freedom and pride for (recovered) cancer patients and direct family.

I think it’s important for cancer survivors to get exposure to a different way of dealing with the psycho social impact of cancer in your life.

(Ruben Lenten - Pro kitesurfer - Cancer survivor)

Kite4Life, all ready a fantastic foundation even though it only just started. It is a great initiative. I have become an ambassador because I have had to fight the disease myself and now I can look at the positives in life again. I hope I can inspire people to pick up life to the fullest after recovering from cancer.

(Hellen - participant)

We are now learning how to kite with the trainer kite as you can see at the back ground. We are also learning how it is to fly a kite and enjoy the experience.

(Annabel van Westerop - Pro kitesurfer)

Fantastic to be here and be part of this foundation as ambassador. I hope that lots of people are going to learn how to kite and I am very pleased I can be part of their journey.

(Jorriaan - Kite4Life employer)

Cancer is an awful disease. What we see with this sport is that not only the (ex) patient but also the whole family has a positive experience.

(Hellen - Participant)

It gives such a boost of energy and as a result I forget everything and that’s just what I need.

(Timo - Participant)

It’s so pleasant and easy when everyone understands what you are going through so you don’t have to explain anything.

(Maurice - Participant)

By learning how to kite I hope to get into a different mindset and forget about the day to day struggle and focus my thoughts on something different.